How to grow a microorganism

It is the basic business of microbiologists: growing microorganisms. Despite of the apparent simplicity of this task, there are lots of pitfalls, which – in the worst case – render experimental results useless. Knowing the physiological state of a bacterium / a fungus used for an experiment is one of the crucial aspects of this subject – which is ignored all too often. Thomas Egli, an expert in the field of the growth of microorganisms, has compiled basic mistakes frequently committed in batch and continuous cultivation – and still more important, he tells us how these mistakes can be avoided. So no one should start a microbial culture without having read this article at least three times …